


Breathless, or some other cliche title

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Asphyxiation, Buried Alive, Champion Shiro (Voltron), Choking, Choking on Food, Drowning, Fantastic Racism, Feels, Hanging, Hunk (Voltron) is a Good Friend, Kidnapping, Mouth-to-Mouth, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Torture, Trauma, reference to past bullying/abuse, suffocation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:22:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27673966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Short stories themed around asphyxiation/suffocation because I have a weird obsession with it. Maybe if I channel my fixation into a dedicated fic collection I won’t feel the need to shove obligatory scenes of it into my regular fics lol.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	1. Dirty Blood

“Feisty animal, isn’t it?” sneered a woman who held Keith’s left arm as he fought to escape her hold.

“They know no other way. It is why they must be put down. _Slowly_ , so they can think about what they’ve done as darkness takes them” said a man holding down Keith’s legs.

“What I’ve done? You mean _being born_?” spat Keith.

“Now you’re understanding” smirked another man.

This planet was very open-minded and willing to join the Voltron coalition, so when three important diplomats managed to separate Keith from the others he suspected nothing. Until they began asking strange, invasive questions to Keith, all going back to the same topic.

Keith’s galra heritage. It was something that he could never escape but shouldn’t even _have_ to.

“Someone muzzle the damn thing” complained the man holding his legs.

While the woman yanked Keith’s arms behind his back and got to work tying his wrists together with rope another man produced musty cloths and shoved one into Keith’s mouth. He gagged on it, trying to expel it, but the man shoved it down further. Then he forced _another_ one in and Keith sucked in air through his nose, doing his best not to choke. A cloth was wrapped around his mouth and nose and tied in the back of his head.

Keith was struggling to breathe with everything in his mouth and the cloth pressing against his nose.

“I don’t think that’s good enough” said the woman, even though it was _very much_ overkill.

So the same man wrapped an additional cloth over Keith’s face and tied it tight. Keith _wheezed._ He could hardly get any air at all and it took a lot of effort to drag a single breath into his lungs.

“Much better!” said the man over Keith’s legs, finishing up tying his ankles. Without warning everything spun upward as Keith was hoisted over the guy’s shoulders like a sack of potatoes. He tried to throw himself off but it just made him breathless.

He was thrown down painfully against something that felt like splintery wood. Then the sun was blocked out and everything went dark with a _thunk._

Keith struggled frantically against his bindings. He was honestly terrified because he was pretty sure that he’d just been sealed in a wooden coffin.

Then something started banging against the lid and shaking the box. Keith’s stomach dropped as he realized that it was probably shovels and dirt.

“G-mmmrrrf!” screamed Keith, smothered by all of the cloth. He didn’t know if he was screaming for help or just in helpless frustration. Either way it used up all of the oxygen in his blood and he gasped for air.

Except he couldn’t, or at least not nearly enough. Between the cloth and the dwindling air supply in his dark little box Keith’s lungs ached and every attempt at a breath through his nose hurt, sharp like knives. He tried not to panic, tried to take slow and deep breaths, but he succumbed. He started to hyperventilate, short useless gasps getting faster and faster. Tears stung his eyes. He shivered and his chest gave a couple painful spasms until the sounds of the shovels faded.

It was hard to tell at what point he lost his battle with consciousness when everything was black. But he knew when someone pulled him back out of it.

“-eith! Come on, work with me!” somebody urged.

Sweet, cool breath was forced into Keith’s lungs. What a relief- maybe he could just let someone else do all of the breathing for him and he could sleep...

Somebody slapped his face. He coughed and gasped.

“Oh my gosh- I’m sorry! I thought I was losing you so I just panicked!” apologized Hunk.

“Well it- _cough-_ worked” said Keith. He tried to sit up.

“Don’t strain yourself. Shiro’s taking care of the... _monsters_ that did this, so we have time to rest” said Hunk.

Keith flopped back down on his back and panted. His vision was a little blurry but he could make out Hunk’s worried face.

“You just saved my life.”

“Well, yeah, I wasn’t _not_ gonna save your life. But I’ll take that as a Keith brand thank you.”

Keith chuckled quietly.


	2. The Big Blue Void

When Lance tipped off of the cliff during battle he was, of course, panicking. His helmet was knocked off and tossed away to who-knows-where. But once water started coming closer and closer he was at least relieved to have a soft landing.

Then he was plunged into a dark world of _cold_ and the panic returned.

He couldn’t tell up from down. His paladin armor was heavy and almost dragging him under. Bubbles distorted his vision.

 _Stay calm, stay calm! You’ve got this, it’s just a little water!_ thought Lance.

Eventually Lance’s body settled and stopped being whipped around like a rag doll in the current. There _was_ a small current. Was this a river? 

Lance saw light far above him. The surface... it was a long ways away, though. _No worries! You’re a great swimmer!_ he thought. He started chasing the light, swimming easier now that he’d calmed.

But calm could only stay for so long when you didn’t have any oxygen.

Lance swallowed, his throat bobbing. It was getting a little uncomfortable to hold his breath and the light didn’t seem to be getting any closer... he just concentrated on swimming up. But a few moments later and his chest was burning. Why couldn’t humans have gills? _No problem, you’re a mermaid, you don’t need to breathe!_ thought Lance, trying to distract himself.

The surface _was_ a little closer now, but it needed to be _even closer_ because Lance’s lungs were going to burst. His chest spasmed, rocking him suddenly, and bubbles escaped his mouth.

“Glmmph!” Lance gurgled. He stopped swimming to slap his hands over his mouth and nose. _Shit!_ This was getting real, it was getting dangerous. Of course fighting an intergalactic war was dangerous but right now, for the first time, Lance was very close to _dying._ Drowning, of all things!

Well, this actually wasn’t the first time Lance had almost drowned, come to think of it. There was that time a couple of years ago he was doing laps in the Garrison’s olympic-sized pool and a couple of jackasses that had been picking on him in classes held him under because of some spat them and Lance had got into. He remembered the pressure, his ears popping, the corners of his vision getting dark...

 _Wait- that’s exactly what’s happening right now!_ thought Lance.

He swam with renewed energy, fueled by fear and a little spite. He couldn’t swim as fast as he wanted because one arm was taken up by holding his mouth and nose shut. He _had_ to, he could feel himself sucking for breath against his hand, if he let go he’d surely breathe water.

Shit, it looked like wasn’t even half way up! He- he wasn’t going to make it!

Lance doubled over, squeezing his face with both hands, shuddering. His heart roared in his ears and his lungs ached and squeezed and his chest heaved up and Lance almost let go of his face.

_No no no! Don’t breathe don’t breathe don’t breathe!  
_

But he couldn’t help it. He jerked his head out of his hands and all of his precious air burst into foam, traveling up to where he needed to be.

Then he gasped.

”Kgg-!!” Lance choked, wide-eyed. He felt like he was being strangled. He couldn’t think of anything but the need to _not die_ and he somehow swam upwards faster than ever before. His limbs were going numb and his eyes were full of static but then, unbelievably-

“Gahhh!” Lance half-gasped half-screamed as he breached the surface. He gagged on some water and coughed it out as he somehow mustered enough energy not to sink back underwater. He sluggishly paddled to the bank of- beach of? - the water, getting dizzier every second.

Lance collapsed on the soft ground, panting raggedly. The numbness covered him until he couldn’t feel anything, only hearing the water lapping at his ankles and soothe him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t worry, he lived. He just needed a rest there at the end.


	3. Silenced

Shiro’s arm was unsalvageable.

He knew it as soon as he took the hit, but staring down at what was left of it now that the adrenaline rush was wearing off it was making him sick. He had initially fainted, from blood loss or something else, and now he had woken up in this cold room on a metal table. They had strapped him down, got all their tools ready... he was going to say goodbye to a part of himself forever.

He readied himself.

Then the witch and her druids appeared.

“No, get away! What do you even want now of all times?!” 

“You do not know your own potential. We will turn this loss into a gain. We have great use for you... if you cooperate” said the witch.

“Like hell!” spat Shiro.

“Watch that mouth” said a galra soldier. He pulled out a little remote control and pressed a button.

Shiro’s throat tightened and his next scream was dissolved. He couldn’t breathe- he was choking on nothing and everything.

“it appears to be malfunctioning” someone said.

 _What was?_ thought Shiro. He tried to move his good hand to his neck to yank off whatever force was throttling him but the straps held fast. Panic made his blood boil.

“You said that collar was supposed to shock him, you fool” said another soldier.

“I don’t know why it’s-”

Shiro couldn’t focus on the rest of their conversation. Survival was his only thought. He yanked his destroyed arm against its restraints and was blinded by pain, his screams swallowed by the vice on his throat. There were hands on him suddenly and he twisted away from them, only making everything worse. He couldn't even see everything that was melting together. He felt a sharp pain, something metal grazing his flesh. 

“-going to cut his head off if you’re not-”

Shiro tried to pry himself out from under, feeling like he was drowning and trying to surface, but the fight was leaving him.

 _What a ridiculous death, dying by an accident intead of in the arena..._ thought Shiro.

Suddenly the weight was lifted and Shiro could breathe again. His ragged gasps echoed off of the walls. He was pretty sure that he blacked out again for a second. His ears were ringing and the first thing he saw again was the witch.

“- nothing like those incompetent peons. I will take you apart and reform you. You will be the Champion, and you will be _perfect”_ she said.

Shiro tried to respond but in a snap of the witch’s fingers all was black again.


	4. Aftermath 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Hunk and Lance friendship feels in the aftermath of The Big Blue Void

Hunk knew that something was up with Lance.

Ever since that last mission his friend was quieter than usual. Thinking a lot. Frowns on his face more than smiles. Was it something that happened _during_ the mission? Everyone watched Lance fall off of that cliff and, for a minute, thought that he was done for. Near death experiences could stick with a person.

They needed to talk.

“Hey, Lance? Can we talk for a second? Alone?” asked Hunk to Lance who was sitting, hugging his knees, on the corner of the lounge sofa.

”Uh, Hunk, we _are_ alone” said Lance, sweeping his arm across the room.

”Right” chuckled Hunk. He sat.

”You’ve been quiet lately. We don’t have to talk about it, but if there’s something eating you up I’m here to talk, okay?”

Lance smiled tiredly. “Okay.”

But they didn’t talk until later. It was the middle of the night and Hunk couldn’t sleep so he was fixing one of Pidge’s busted inventions. Lance apparently couldn’t sleep, either. He walked in, flopped next to Hunk, and leaned his head on his best friend’s shoulder.

“Basically I’m disappointed in myself for already being a different person since we left Earth” blurted Lance out of nowhere.

“Lance?”

“I almost died on that last mission but-”

“You mean _besides_ falling off the cliff? _”_

“-but almost dying isn’t like, making me afraid of the future or anything, it’s just that I’ve realized that we haven't been out here for very long and I’m already changing so much. _I’m scared of water now,_ Hunk! I _love_ water! And the beach! I’m not even Lance anymore... I don't know _what_ I am” sighed Lance.

“I’m sorry, man” said Hunk, putting a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “For what’s it’s worth, everyone changes every second with new memories, new experiences, but we’re still _us._ We didn’t become something... weak, or broken. If that’s what you’re worried about.”

Lance bit his lip and looked to the right.

“ _Lance._ Seriously. You’re not weak for changing.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m totally serious. And it sounds like you became afraid of something because it hurt you, and that just happens. You didn’t _let_ it happen, it just happened. Because we’re not just cold rocks or something, we’re people with feelings.”

“No offense to Shay, I’m sure.”

Hunk blushed. “Lance!”

Lance smiled and stood. He put a hand on Hunk’s shoulder this time.

“I mean it, thanks. I dunno if I can believe everything you said right away, but maybe after I roll it around in my head a little bit it’ll stick.”

Hunk tugged on Lance’s jacket when he started to walk away.

”Hey. you’re welcome, but remember you don’t have to do anything alone.”

Alone. That’s one thing that made that mission so scary for Lance. He had to claw his way up by himself.

Lance squeezed Hunk’s shoulder.

”I know.”


	5. Comfort Food

Hunk and Coran served up their latest experiment in normal food, because Hunk was not going to let that bubbling monster Coran tried to serve them haunt their future meals.

It was a success! But amid the laughter and chatter there was a suspicious silence, a lack of gobbling and food shoveling that usually came from the green paladin’s chair.

Pidge looked frozen in concentration.

“Pidge?” asked Lance.

Pidge grasped the table and coughed harshly, so much that her glasses fell off.

“H-Hey, do you need some water?!” asked Hunk, standing up. Lance picked up her glasses and set them on the table.

Pidge shook her head no, but them she couldn’t even cough anymore and grasped her throat.

“Does anyone know CPR?!” screamed Lance.

“What about the Heimlich?” said Hunk.

Shiro sprinted across the table and put a hand on Pidge’s arm. She swatted him away and leaned over with her hands on her knees. A big _gulp_ was audible in the room and then she was catching her breath.

Everyone relaxed. Allura looked like she was about to faint and Coran fanned her.

“Sorry, Shiro, but if you gave me the Heimlich you’d break me in half!” rasped Pidge. Hunk gave her that promised glass of water. She thanked him and drank.

“You eat too fast. You _inhale_ your food” said Keith to Pidge. Lance nodded, seeing it for himself as well.

“Guilty as charged” said Pidge. “I’ll just have to slow it down a little.”

“You know, you’ll savor the food more that way too. We didn’t make this meal for it to bypass your taste buds!” said Hunk

“Yeah, yeah. Are you sure it wasn’t some alien toxins that made me choke, Hunk?”

Lance spit and rubbed his tongue and Hunk paled, running to the kitchen to double check his ingredients.

Pidge chuckled and put her glasses back on.

“I’m glad you’re okay, but just be more careful from now on, yeah?” said Shiro.

“I will. Promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dont know if this needs to be said but I’m not blaming everyone who’s choked on food for eating too fast. I just have personal experience in the subject and let me tell you- dont eat too fast!


	6. Suspension

Keith ran to Lance’s spot perched in a tree as fast as his legs could carry him. The other paladin was pinned down with only the flimsy branches for cover. Some galra sentry robots guarding the outside of the building had found his sniping position.

“Great timing, dude!” said Lance, but with a bit of sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“I came as fast as I could!” complained Keith. He slid on his knees to skillfully avoid a robot and slashed its middle.

“Yeah, well-”

Keith heard Lance’s voice cut out with a disturbing noise. He looked over to his tree and his eyes widened.

Lance appeared to have slipped off of his branch, but instead of falling many feet to the ground was caught by a vine. Which wouldn’t have been so bad were it not _wrapped around his neck._

“Lance!” yelled Keith. “I’m coming, hang in there!”

Keith could have phrased that better.

He tousled with the robots and unfortunately one got a good hit on his right ankle. He cried out but managed to destroy it before running over to Lance.

Well, running was one way to describe it. Hobbling would be more accurate. He willed himself to go faster, panting and grunting.

Lance was flailing around like a madman, clearly in the throes of panic.

“Lance, just shoot it already!” yelled Keith. He had a gun, didn’t he?!

But Lance either didn’t hear him or couldn’t think straight. Keith shook his head and made it to the base of the tree. Lance was going to make him climb this thing, wasn’t he?

“Lance, seriously, your bayard. Use it!”

While Lance was pushing his legs against the back of the tree, attempting to climb it and relieve the tension on his neck, he tried to aim a shaking arm up. He fired, but the blast missed. A couple more wayward blasts rang out, taking leaves and small branches out with them.

“On second thought, forget it. I’ll cut you down!” said Keith. Lance was going to kill them with that thing at this rate.

“Aaugh!” Keith grunted, struggling to climb with his hurt ankle. The tree was jagged for purchase and Lance wasn’t too high up. He could do this.

When he was close Lance kicked him in the side. He lost footing.

“No! No no no!” screamed Keith. He held on with his arms. He wrapped his legs around the trunk and scooted upwards until he could reach the vine enough to cut it.

“Okay. I’m here now” gasped Keith. Lance was now limp and silent, besides twitching every few seconds.

One slash didn’t do it, surprising Keith. He angrily hacked at the vine until it finally gave Lance up.

Then Lance fell with a very hard thump and Keith realized just how high up they were.

Keith took an eternity to get down. He limped over to Lance’s prone form and was relieved that he was breathing again. It was harsh but it was there. Keith dropped down to him, wincing when he jostled his injured ankle. He unwrapped the remainder of the vine from Lance’s neck.

Lance’s eyes opened. “Ooooh, quiznak, I think I’m gonna puke.” He opened his helmet for some fresh air. “My _arm._ ”

“Is it broken?”

“I think.”

Keith didn’t know what kind of face he was making but it made Lance punch his arm softly with his good hand.

“Hey. Smile, Mullet, you’re a hero.”

Keith didn’t feel like a hero. He just felt like he did what he had to do. And sometimes, secretly, he was very tired of what they all had to do.


End file.
